Manchester Intermittent and Daily Diet Type 1 Diabetes App Study (MIDDAS-Type 1)

To assess the safety, acceptability and feasibility of testing Intermittent Low Energy Diet (ILED) and Continuous Low Energy Diet (CLED) programmes for 12 weeks in a real life setting with people with T1D and obesity.

The study described herein is a small randomised, open-label, single centre feasibility study of 12 patients with T1D and obesity. The aim of the study is to assess the safety, acceptability and feasibility of ILED (850kcal/day 2 days/week) and CLED (850kcal/day) over 12 weeks in a real life setting with people with T1D and obesity to help them lose weight and improve their glycaemic control. The low energy diets will involve Nestle Optifast® meal replacements as a total diet replacement (TDR). People with T1D are becoming increasingly accustomed to remote monitoring of their blood glucose by health professionals using several continuous glucose monitoring devices including the Freestyle Libre® flash glucose monitoring system. The Freestyle Libre® allows healthcare professionals to view patient blood glucose trends and patterns from the web-based platform Libreview®. The study described herein will also assess the safety and practicality of providing remote follow-up support by healthcare professionals (dietitian, nurse and psychologist) to patients with T1D and obesity during the course of implementing the low energy diets. High-frequency remote follow up has been shown to be superior to low-frequency face-to-face care in weight management interventions. Remote care reduces participants' burden to attend face-to-face appointments and may be cost-effective compared with face-to-face care whilst improving access to care. The study described herein will incorporate high-frequency remote follow up via telephone and/or the Oviva® smartphone application facilitating messaging, video calls and self-monitoring of weight and blood pressure. The Freestyle Libre® flash glucose monitoring system will facilitate remote review of blood glucose readings. Positive results from this feasibility study of two different low energy diets will inform whether one or both diets go forward into a large and longer term randomised efficacy trial following the Medical Research Council complex intervention guidance. This could provide the evidence base to inform the use of low energy diets in individuals with T1D and obesity for weight loss to improve their metabolic status and reduce the risk of cardiovascular and other physical and mental co morbidities associated with T1D.